Buyers Considering Android Beware

Basically, a smart phone is a mini computer that allows you to place and receive phone calls.  Just like a PC, the performance of a smart phone is dictated by the network it’s connected to, the amount of memory available and its operating system.  The actual hardware has a minor affect on how a phone will perform.  This is the reason many PC manufacturers went out of business, because the only differentiator between manufacturers was the amount of memory and the speed of its processor.  If you focused on memory and the processor, it didn’t matter what make of computer you purchased.

Many people are considering a new smart phone and not sure whether they should purchase an Apple or Android device.  Some of the early smart phone users contracts are coming due and they’re considering moving from Apple to Android or vice versa.

I moved from BlackBerry to an Android Thunderbolt over a year ago.  At the time, it was Verizon’s only 4G phone.  I knew I wanted the Verizon network and it made sense to start out with 4G.  I don’t get caught up in all the Apple hysteria, but I recently purchased an Apple MacBook Pro and have come to realize why the company is so appreciated.

So now my mobile phone contract is coming up again and I am considering a new phone.  To me, all that matters is fast internet, some apps, music and some other items that I’m sure would be near identical from one phone manufacturer to the next.  I’m considering an iPhone but there’s a part of me that likes to go one way when everyone else is headed in the other direction.

That was until I did some research and discovered that Android phone manufacturers are notoriously bad at updating their phone’s operating systems.  It makes sense.  There are many Android phone manufacturers and their sole profit comes from equipment sales.  Apple keeps everything in house.  If you read Steve Jobs’ book you understand why he wanted to provide end-to-end solutions – to assure their quality.  So, if your company provides wireless devices to their employees or operates under a wireless stipend model this should be useful information.

According to the understatement’s article about Android support, 7 of 18 Android phones never ran a current version of their operating system, 12 of 18 ran a current version of the OS for a few weeks or less, 10 of 18 were at least 2 versions behind and 13 of 18 stopped receiving support before the device stopped being sold.

There’s a reason software is updated, and it’s not just to annoy its users.  Bugs need to be eliminated, security heightened and improvements were made…  If you buy the latest smart phone but the operating system is never updated, your phone will only be new for a short while.

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